Lighters used for igniting tobacco products, such as cigars, cigarettes, and pipes, have developed over a number of years. Typically, these lighters use either a rotary friction element or a piezoelectric element to generate a spark in proximity to a nozzle emitting fuel from a fuel container. Piezoelectric mechanisms have gained universal acceptance. One such piezoelectric mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,697 ("the '697 patent"). The disclosure of the '697 patent is incorporated by reference herein.
Lighters have also evolved from the small, hand-held lighters to several forms of extended lighters. These lighters are also hand held, but are more useful for general purposes such as lighting candles, barbecue grills, fireplaces and campfires. Earlier attempts at such designs relied simply on extended actuating handles to house a typical lighter at the end. Examples of this concept are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,259,059 and 4,462,791.
In addition, many utility lighters have incorporated some form of operating mechanism to prevent unintentional operation of the lighter. Often, these mechanisms take the form of on/off switches that may prevent activation of the lighter. However, the on/off switches that must be positively moved by the user between "on" and "off" positions have drawbacks. For example, an adult user may forget to move the switch back to the "off" position after use and thereby render the on/off switch ineffective.
The prior art extended utility lighters typically have a trigger mechanism, which actuates both the fuel source and the ignitor mechanism. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,3269,256. In this lighter, the fuel release and spark generation are initiated by a single motion. In contrast, requiring separate and distinct motions for releasing gas and for actuating the piezoelectric mechanism would increase the difficulty of operating the extended utility lighter.
Thus, there remains a need for a utility lighter which resists operation by unintended users by requiring multiple movements or motions by the user to activate the lighter.